After the fight, fishermen from the Indonesian province of Aceh found the boat in distress and mobilised as many vessels as they could find to rescue the survivors and take them to Langsa, an Indonesian town.

"We fishermen have a code," a local by the name of Ridwan told Al Jazeera.

"At sea you are all brothers and sisters, foreigners or Indonesians. So if someone is asking for help, we as fishermen have an obligation to help without looking at race, religion or anything."

The fishermen were questioned by police for allegedly violating naval policies.

International organisations estimate that thousands of people are still stranded at sea.

They say the migrants are the victims of a game of political human ping-pong between Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, a game that is costing people their lives.